The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Adventures

Gr 1–4—When classic books are abridged and truncated (in this case called "a modern retelling"), the question always arises as to whether the heart of the story remains intact or whether it has been lost in oversimplification. Will the abridgement whet children's appetites so that they will approach the original version when older, or will they possibly believe they've already read it and pass it by? Rhatigan and Nurnberg have managed to make the story accessible to younger readers while preserving the main plot and characters. The narrative moves along quickly and maintains the drama of the original tale of little Mowgli, who is adopted by a wolf pack, befriended by Baloo and Bagheera, and threatened by Shere Khan, the vicious tiger. The illustrations are bright and flow across the spreads. An alert child may spot characters from other Kipling tales.